From the 50 km mass start of the World Championships in Planica, it is allowed to wait for the duel between Iivo Niskanen and Johannes Hösflot Kläbo, if the Norwegian’s travel choices do not become a problem, writes Atte Husu.
The men have been skiing 50 kilometers in the value races as a joint start since 2005. 10 of the 13 starts have ended in a battle for the final stretch.
He was the first to deviate from the mainstream Johan Olsson, whose release lasted at the 2013 Val di Fiemme World Championships. He repeated the same Hans Christer Holund Seefeld on the World Championship tracks 2019.
A year earlier Iivo Niskanen and Alexander Bolshunov at the Pyeongchang Olympics, so far the only mass start duel of the royal race, where the fellow competitors remained completely in the role of extras – the difference to the bronze medalist was torn to more than 2.5 minutes after Niskanen pressed the gas to the bottom at 18 kilometers.
When 18 kilometers had been completed in the World Cup in France on Sunday, the same Finn pushed to the front in a way that could only be answered by Johannes Hösflot Kläbo. On Sunday, the Norwegian benefited from the fact that when Niskanen hit the finish line, there was only two kilometers to go.
A little over a month later, on March 5th, the way to proceed in the World Cup terrains in Planica will be the traditional skiing method like yesterday and the competition format will be a joint start, but at that time the distance will be 50 kilometers instead of 20. If Niskanen stays healthy for the next five weeks, Takuu’s toolbox for the new Athlete of the Year is guaranteed to soften the majority of opponents.
At the moment, the main question is whether it also softens Kläbo.
Missing piece
When Niskanen was tuning his long stroke that brought the 50 km Olympic gold at the Alpensia Ski Stadium in Pyeongchang, Kläbo, who won three golds in the same Games – sprint, pair sprint and relay – had already traveled 8,000 kilometers away from the real action.
In the 2019 World Championships in Seefeld, the formula was the same: three golds and go home. In both Pyeongchang and Seefeld, Kläbo also participated in the skiathlon that opened the Games, which resulted in his modest 10th and 30th places.
Although in the World Cup Kläbo was known to be dangerous on all distances, in the prestigious races he was only an invincible sprint cannon and relay anchor.
In the previous World Championships held in Oberstdorf in 2021, the pace was already different. In addition to the familiar streak of three gold medals, Kläbo was fourth in the combined competition, and he also crossed the finish line first in the 50 kilometers that ended the competition.
However, the race jury rejected Kläbo, as his illegal lane change at the end of the straight resulted in Bolshunov’s pole breaking.
Although the first fifty races of Kläbo’s career ended in cat-sized headlines, the Norwegian shook off even the last straws as a one-sided cannon and cemented his position as the absolute top all-around skier.
Last year in Beijing, Kläbo already received the Olympic bronze for the 15 kilometers won by Niskanen, but the personal gold of normal distances is still the missing piece in his career.
The matter will most likely be corrected at the World Championships in Planica, but on which route?
Does greed strike?
The 26-year-old Kläbo in his current attack is the early favorite to win the first normal distance, the skiathlon, with reigning Olympic champion Bolshunov shining in his absence.
According to information from several Norwegian sources, Kläbo wants to ski all six distances in the World Championships. Winning six gold medals would be a historic achievement. So far, the record stands Jelena Välbewho won all five gold medals on offer at the World Championships in Trondheim in 1997.
After the skiathlon, the normal distances are followed by a 15-kilometer intermediate start in free skiing, which Kläbo has never managed to win even in the World Cup – all four victories in intermediate starts have come in traditional skiing.
Of the free split start and the traditional 50 km joint start, the latter is definitely the more likely golden seam for Kläbo. It is still an indisputable fact that Kläbo will give Niskasen a significant handicap in view of the battle for victory in the Royal Tour, if the Norwegian plans to carry out his full race program and start with an intermediate start.
Niskanen will definitely compete in Planica before the final race only in the skiathlon and the relay, so he will get to his main competition in Kläbo in any case significantly fresher. It’s just a matter of whether Kläbo has competed in four or five races before turning fifty.
The match between Niskanen, who has reached top shape, and Kläbo, who is in good shape or at least knocking on his life, can develop into an all-time duel for the royal tour – that is, if the Norwegian does not get greedy.
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